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In the systematic killing of Kurd border residents (carriers) under the pretext of countering smuggled goods, two other Kurd citizens were shot by security forces in the Marivan border region.According to reports, last night in the Doleyi border region in Marivan, security forces opened fire on Kurd citizens and severely wounded two of them. One of these men was identified as Kamal Qaderi but the identity of the second person is unknown.

ReutersIran has closed the Tehran office of a television channel partly owned by News Corp and arrested five employees for 'helping the anti-revolutionary movement,' the semi-official Mehr news agency said on Tuesday.The satellite entertainment channel Farsi1 broadcasts soaps and sitcoms dubbed into Persian. It is operated by Dubai-based Broadcast Middle East, a 50-50 joint venture between News Corp and Afghanistan's MOBY Group.Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the Farsi1 office in central Tehran had dubbed television series into Farsi 'with the aim of helping the anti-revolutionary movement,' Mehr news agency said.‘This office was shut down and five people were arrested in this regard. There were advanced machines and equipment in this office and we wonder how this equipment was imported and installed there,' he said.The Iranian state has a monopoly of broadcasting in Iran.Dolatabadi did not give further details and did not say when the channel's office was closed down.Iran's hardline rulers often accuse the United States and other Western countries of seeking to overthrow clerical rule through a 'soft' or 'velvet' revolution with the help of intellectuals, internet websites and satellite channels.Launched in August 2009, Farsi1 is popular among many Iranians with its range of entertainment shows from the United States, Latin America and Asia.Iranian authorities were in the past critical of the channel, saying its programs were contradictory to Iran's Islamic and revolutionary values.

Local informed sources have reported that nine prisoners were hanged on November 30 in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad. According to this source, on November 9, 11 others were hanged on drug related charges in this prison. Counting the 10 prisoners who were killed on October 26 in this prison, the number of executions in the past two months in Vakil Abad Prison reaches 30 persons…These executions are not included in the official statistics which is given to state-run media in official statements by the Judicial System.These prisoners are hanged in the Protection Cellblock in Vakil Abad Prison. According to this source, the executions on November 9 and November 30 were carried out without following the official regulations of the Islamic Republic and without the presence or notification of their lawyers or families.“As in previous cases, prisoners who were executed were only informed of the confirmation of their death sentences and the time it would be carried out hours before their execution. Their lawyers and families were not informed that the Supreme Court had confirmed their death sentences and their cases were only sent for implementation to the Mashhad Prosecutor.Before this, this source had told the Campaign that there are many questions regarding the implementation of due process in some of these cases.

Mehr state-run News Agency Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, the head of the Judiciary said, “All rapists and armed robbers should know that their actions are considered as enmity with God in the eyes of the law and the Judiciary will see to their cases in less than a month and without doubt their sentence is death”.

Ahmad Gholami, editor in chief of the Sharq Daily, Keivan Mehregan, the head of political news, and Farzaneh Rostayi, head of the international news in this daily were arrested hours ago by security forces who came to the offices of this daily. These people were arrested amidst protests from other reporters and were transferred to an unknown location.

Committee of Human Rights Reporters During a gathering in the Razi University in Kermanshah in protest to a program by the Bassij on Student Day, two students were arrested by security forces.The presence of the former Guidance Minister in this university led to widespread protests and students chanted ‘death to dictator’ and left the hall where he was giving a speech.When a number of these students were leaving from the exits of the university, two students who had participated in the protest were arrested by plainclothes agents with coordination with the university’s Protection Department. There are no exact reports on their whereabouts.

Students of the International Qazvin University held a ceremony for Students’ Day along with other universities across the country despite unprecedented security measures.According to reports, on December 6 and the morning of December 7, unprecedented security measures were taken in this university and plainclothes agents were out in large numbers near the main entrance of the university and campus. On the evening of December 6, three students were arrested for a short time by security forces in the city of Qazvin and were interrogated and threatened. Also on the morning of December 7, the Intelligence Agency in this city summoned at least three students by phone and there is no news on their whereabouts after they went to this institution.

The gathering today in Amir Kabir University is still ongoing with clashes between students and Bassij forces.After causing clashes between students and pressure forces, Mr. Baqeri who is a member of the university’s Protection Department (department in universities across Iran tasked with controlling and suppressing students) who has played an important part in the suppressions in the last few years, arrested four students and transferred them to the Protection Department. There is still no news on the detained students.Notably, students intended to hold pictures of (jailed student activist) Majid Tavakoli but they were attacked by Bassij forces.

Hamid-Reza Khadem, the founding member of the Committee in Solidarity with Jailed Students and a member of the National Iran Front was sentenced to three and four months of prison by the 15th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.According to reports, this political prisoner was sentenced to three years and four months of prison on charges of ‘propagating against the government, assembling and conspiring with the intention of acting against national security and disrupting public order’. He was arrested last Ashura (Shiite mourning ceremony) on December 27, 2009 in his home and was jailed for 2 months in solitary.

Jailed lawyer Nasrin Sutodeh announced in a call to her family that she has gone on a dry hunger strike in protest to her condition and that of other prisoners who are jailed with unjustified sentences and will continue until her rightful and legal demands are met.According to her husband Reza Khandan, the most important reasons she has gone on a dry hunger strike are as follows:- The persistence of her detention for 95 days despite having two small children and the fact that there is no reason for her continuing imprisonment when her trial ended nine days ago.- The empty promises of a number of security and judicial officials that she would be released.- The fact that her trial was faulty and the judge seeing to her case made biased statements and announced in practice that Nasrin Sutodeh was guilty before the end of the court session.- The disappearance of 12 letters and other documents presented by Sutodeh which is currently not in the legal files.- The threatening of lawyers in the court session.- The announcement that Sutodeh has been accused of heavier charges because of choosing lawyers that the court deems unacceptable or not trustable.- Being kept in cellblock 209 where she is subjected to pressure because of the intolerable conditions in solitary since her arrest 95 days ago.- Being prevented from seeing her small children in person. (Except for one instance in these 95 days when agents clashed with her family and were harassed.)- Being subjected to various limitations including being denied pen and paper.- Not being informed about her father’s death on time and being denied a leave to be present in his funeral. It is the legal right of all prisoners to be granted leaves in such cases.Nasrin Sutodeh has gone on hunger strike twice in protest to her condition in prison and previously went on a nine day dry hunger strike.Despite two trials, the judge seeing to her case extended her detention order again yesterday. Nasrin Sutodeh has been jailed in solitary since September 4, 2010.

This year's Student protests were an exception in bravery, challenge and success.All three aspects of the event are a suggestive sign to point to the weak and fragile position of the IRAN regime.The extremely alert security presence; nationwide security mobilization and also added up special organizational chart to curb and prevent gatherings of the students has FAILED in the best manner possible.Obviously the Iranian youth have once again displayed a unique will and power for FREEDOM which may set an example for others.They have been inventive in almost all ways of "modern resistance" ; in the way of communicating with the news to the world outside, in the new organizational manner which is as strict in organization as it is dynamic in order and discipline; and also in courage and will power.It almost is obvious that this year's protests have been more a threat to the Iran regime than previous ones.

PRESS COVERAGE

NY TIMES

Iran Security Officials Arrest Four at Newspaper

By WILLIAM YONG

TEHRAN — Security officials have raided one of Iran’s few remaining independent newspapers, arresting three journalists and a managing director, web sites associated with the political opposition reported Wednesday.

The arrests, made Tuesday, coincided with the publication of a special supplement by the newspaper, Shargh, that paid homage to Student Day, the annual commemoration of the deaths of student protesters in 1953. The section, titled “The Student Movement is Alive,” included interviews with government critics and amounted to a daring compliment to the student protesters and others who demonstrated after the disputed June 2009 presidential elections.

Iran’s official news outlets on Wednesday reported the arrest of four members of Shargh but made no connection between the arrests and the Student Day supplement. Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, the top prosecutor in Tehran, said in an interview with the ISNA news agency that the four were under investigation for “security-related offenses” but gave did not identify them or elaborate on the accusations against them.

Iranian judicial authorities have arrested or intimidated dozens of journalists and closed at least 10 publications as part of a broad crackdown on the political opposition since the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by a suspiciously lopsided margin that his challengers called a fraud.

Opposition web sites reported that security officers raided the Shargh newspaper offices twice on Tuesday, first arresting a senior editor, Ahmad Gholami, as well as two other senior editorial staff members while roughing up other staff members. Later in the day, the web sites said, officials returned to arrest Ali Khodabakhsh, a managing director, who has financed and run a number of newspapers and magazines now banned by the Iranian government because of views that are deemed politically unacceptable.

Shargh has been closed by Iran’s press censors on three occasions since it was started in 2003. The latest ban was in 2007 when the newspaper was accused of “violating public chastity.” Shargh was again given permission to publish this past March.

Students at universities all over Iran commemorated Student Day on Tuesday with modest protests within the confines of their campuses and on a scale far smaller than those in the months immediately following Mr. Ahmadinejad’s re-election.

None of the protests were reported in the state-run press. But opposition web site videos posted on Youtube showed gatherings of several hundred students at universities in Tehran, Ghazvin, Rasht and Hamedan chanting anti-government slogans and singing songs associated with the reform movement.

At least one video showed skirmishes with pro-government militia men whom opposition web sites reported had been brought in to suppress the protests. According to the reports, police made around a dozen arrests nationwide.

Hundreds of students have been arrested in the post-election crackdown, including a number of prominent student leaders who have received long prison sentences for charges such as “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.”. Many more have been disciplined or expelled.

UPISpecial ReportsIran's students key reformers, HRW says

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Iranian students are at the forefront of the struggle for political freedom, Human Rights Watch said while highlighting repression in Iran.

Several Iranian student activists were detained by authorities Tuesday during celebrations for National Student's Day, reports Radio Zamaneh, a Persian broadcaster based in the Netherlands.

Iranian journalists were arrested and several opposition Web sites were shut down as state media blacked out all reports on student protests in the country.

Human Rights Watch said that "dozens" of student leaders were behind bars and several others were kicked off campus for political activism.

Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said that despite a climate of repression in Iran, students are on the front lines of the fight for democratic rights in Iran.

"The government accuses student activists of endangering national security and being manipulated by 'foreign elements' as cover for its campaign to eliminate the student movement and stifle academic freedom," he said in a statement. "Despite these pressures, students are at the front line of the struggle for greater freedoms at universities and throughout society."

National Student's Day commemorates the anniversary of the deaths of three university students killed in 1953 by security forces under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

The statements lambast the Iranian regime’s repressive policies and cruelty against Iranian citizens and the student population, pointing to widespread arrests and attacks by the mullahs’ security forces on the country’s campuses.

One statement by students at Tehran’s Khajeh Nasir University recalls the regime’s barbaric measures against extensive uprisings after June 2009, saying, “Our memories have been tarnished by images of our friends being thrown off balconies, broken doors and windows, bullets, batons, tear gas, smoke, and friends whose blood has been shed, those who have been wounded, and others jailed or under torture.”

Students at the Free University in Tehran remembers in a separate statement the painful memories of the killing of their friends Ashkan Sohrabi and Amir Javadifar during the 2009 uprisings at the hands of the regime’s suppressive forces.

“(This month) is reminiscent of years of student struggle in this land against tyranny and terror. This month has a day named after us, the students,” the statement said, adding that the struggle will continue.

In addition to anger towards the clerical regime, the declarations also portray a sense of resolve on behalf of the students, as they vow to stand firm in search of democracy as well as working to free their imprisoned colleagues.

Reports indicate that over 90 prominent students have been imprisoned by the clerical regime since the June 2009 uprisings, according to Daneshjou News.

Babol’s Noshirvani University students called for the release of three of their friends, warning the regime to “free our classmates and stop being vengeful and arrogant.”

The students at the University of Tehran expressed hope that on Student Day “the (politically) conscious students will actively participate in protests to press on with their legitimate demands.”

At Amir Kabir University, students called on their colleagues to join in the protests on December 7 to “shout out together that the university is alive.”

December 7, known as Student Day in Iran, is the anniversary of the murder of three University of Tehran students in 1953. The anniversary has turned into an annual practice of expressing opposition to the clerical regime by students at various universities in Iran...

Human Right Watch

Iran: Escalating Repression of University Students(New York) - Dozens of university students are behind bars and several hundred others have been expelled from campus because of their political activism or religious affiliation, Human Rights Watch said today as Iran marked National Student Day. Many of those in prison hold leadership positions in well known student organizations critical of the government.

efying a severe crackdown against the opposition and widespread political repression, Iranian students on Tuesday staged small anti-government protests throughout the country on the anniversary of Students Day.

Amateur video footage taken during illegal protests on campuses throughout the country showed students chanting slogans from last year's huge demonstrations against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose widely disputed reelection last year spurred months of unrest.

"Mahmoud, you traitor," they chanted on the grounds of Tehran's Sharif University. "Death to you!"

BEIRUT—Iranian students staged antigovernment protests nationwide Tuesday, turning an annual commemoration of student political activism into an opportunity to voice opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the regime that backs him.

Videos posted online showed students marching across campus grounds with green banners—the color of the opposition—holding pictures of jailed students, and chanting "death to the dictator" and "free student prisoners."

Security forces responded with a heavy security deployment, and at least eight arrests, according to the student website Daneshjoo. Official media didn't cover the protests or report any arrests.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the Iranian Resistance’s President-elect, lauded the brave students’ protests and demonstrations during the past two days all across the country marking the anniversary of ‘Student Day’, and saluted the people and youth whose last night chants of ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘death to dictator’ aired through a wide area of TehranRead More

The AustralianIranian students, militias clash in university demosThe clashes came as talks in Geneva aimed at resolving tensions over Iran's nuclear program ended without agreement.

National Student Day was marked by a string of anti-government protests at campuses across the capital in some of the worst civil unrest this year.

Dozens were arrested as students chanted "Death to the dictator" and waved placards attacking President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

There were also cries of support for Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition Green Movement candidate in last year's disputed presidential election.

RAHANA: Eghdami was detained on July 31, 2008 and was under intense psychological torture in the solitary confinement unit of Ward 209.

According to RAHANA, he has recently been transferred to the Quarantine Ward of the Rajaei Shahr Prison. He had been sentenced to 5 years in prison by the lower court which was changed to 10 years in the appeals court.

He was among the prisoners who went on a hunger strike a few months ago and was subsequently transferred to solitary confinement.

His transfer to the Rajaei Shahr Prison is unlawful since the prison is a place for dangerous criminals, murderers and death row detainees.

Ali Ajami is among the prisoners who have also been exiled to the Rajaei Shahr prison in order to serve 2 years of his sentence.

Moreover, Tehran Bus Union members Gholamreza Gholamhosseini and Ali Akbar Nazari are 2 other prisoners who have been transferred to the Rajaei Shahr Prison and Ghezel-Hesar Prison respectively.

A 14-year-old girl was severely beaten on Friday in Esfahan by the Iranian regime’s paramilitary Bassij Forces, according to obtained reports.

Eyewitness accounts indicate that the teenage girl of Armenian origin was stopped by a group of Bassij suppressive agents as she was walking on Nazar Street in Esfahan in the morning hours. The agents insisted that she was not adequately veiled and sought to detain her.

The young girl, however, resisted, which provoked other youths to get involved to try to dissuade the agents from detaining the girl.

But, according to eyewitnesses, a State Security Forces (SSF) unit arrived on the scene to provide back up to the Bassij agents, who violently dispersed the population and detained the girl as they beat her

Jailed labor activist Reza Shahabi went on a dry hunger strike on Saturday December 4 in protest to his condition and is in critical condition.This labor activist who is a member of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company Union was arrested on June 12, 2010 in his place of work and is suffering from problems and pain in his back and shoulder and from a mouth and tooth infection because of the mental and physical pressure he is subjected to in prison.The left side of his body has also gone numb because of his hunger strike.Despite the fact that a letter for his release was issue two months ago, security and judicial forces have said that they have lost his legal files and refuse to answer questions in this regard to put pressure on him and his family. The Revolutionary Court and the second branch of the court in Evin Prison both say that they do not have his legal files.

Human Rights and Democracy Activists in IranPolitical prisoner Mohammad-Ali Mansouri sang the banned national anthem along with other prisoners upon the release of a political prisoner from Gohardasht Prison on October 26. The prison’s Intelligence Unit subsequently summoned a number of these political prisoners including Mansouri and after long interrogations, he was thrown in a solitary cell in Cellblock 1 known as the ‘doghouse’ by Faraji, the head of the Intelligence Unit.This political prisoner is under pressure and kept in medieval conditions and limitations. He is banned from visits and calling his family. The food given to him in solitary is only enough to live on and is almost inedible. Prisoners in this section are violently tortured which leads to broken hands and legs or sometimes deaths. Prisoners are denied minimum medical facilities and are only allowed to use the restroom 3 times in 24 hours. They are allowed to take shows once a week and are banned from going out into the fresh air.Political prisoner Mohammad-Ali Mansouri was arrested after participating in a ceremony to mark the 19th anniversary of the massacre of political prisoner in 1988 and was sentenced to 17 years of prison to be served in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj. He was a political prisoner in the 80’s.

A senior cleric says opposing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is equal to rejecting God.Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati is quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency Monday as telling a conference in the southern city Shiraz that the principle of Velayat-e-Faqih - rule by Islamic clerics - should be considered as one of God's rulings on earth, and that 'rejecting it is like denying God’.The comments were an unusually strong demand for public loyalty to the supreme leader, even from a hard-liner like Jannati, who heads the Guardian Council, a powerful clerical body. Iran's clerical rulers faced their biggest challenge following disputed presidential elections last year, prompting a fierce crackdown on pro-democracy protests

The family of Iran's once most senior dissident cleric has canceled commemorations to mark the one-year anniversary of his death, saying it fears a repeat of the clashes between supporters and security forces that marred the late cleric's funeral last year.In a statement released late Friday, the family of the Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri also accused the ruling Islamic establishment of being more brutal than the pro-U.S. regime of former Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was deposed in Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.Montazeri's family had planned a memorial service in the holy city of Qom to mark the first anniversary of Montazeri's Dec. 20 death. But it said it was calling it off over concerns of a government crackdown similar to the one security forces carried out last year during Montazeri's funeral, when tens of thousands of Iranians turned out to march in what became an anti-government protest

Human Rights Activists in Iran Seven Kurd missionaries were sentenced to heavy prison terms by the 28th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.According to reports, these seven men have been jailed since June 2009 in solitary cells in the Bukan and Orumieh intelligence agencies and cellblocks 209 and 240 in Evin Prison where they were under pressure by intelligence and security agents to make confessions. There were recently trialed by the 28th branch of the Tehran Revolutionary Court headed by Judge Moqiseh and sentenced to prison. Mamousta Mohammad Barayi was sentenced to 11 years of prison, while Abdollah Khosrozadeh, Hossein Heidari and Sobhan Ahmadzadeh were sentenced to six years of prison. Hesam Mohammadi, and Himan Mahmoud Takhti were sentenced to five years of prison while Sediq Ahmadi was sentenced to two years of prison.They were charged with propagating and holding religious ceremonies, holding religious sessions and leaving the country. They are currently in Cellblock 350 in Evin Prison.

Four male prisoners who were arrested on drug related charges and sentenced to death were hanged at dawn in the Central Isfahan Prison today…The sentences for these four men were upheld by Iran’s Attorney General and they were hanged today after their appeals for amnesty were refused twice.Notably, the charges these men were hanged for has not been confirmed by any independent sources.

15 Amir Kabir students arrests on the 16 AZAR protests have been transferred to notorious Evin prison.10 students have been released after interrogation in by the Intelligence Ministry unit , but the rest have been transferred to EVIN prison. The students have been severely beaten during and after arrest.Among those arrested are: Hadi Shakeri and Mohsen Mahboobian.It is important to know that the students had managed to gather in the University to commemorate the occasion despite threats and 1000 gathered crowed had managed to chant "Down with Dictator" under heavy surveillance and physical threat posed by Bassidj and plain cloth units in the compounds.Eyewitnesses say that the so called government forces had been implanted in the university compounds from several days before the occasion. They had also interfered during the gathering to arrest and kidnap students but were prevented by class mates who arrived at the scenes."Generally speaking they (government forces) were very nervous and agitated , as though waiting for a sweep and slash back and they just caught whoever was passing by outside of the campus, and may arrested had nothing to do with the gathering " says one eyewitness who has sent us a rough account of the day that had passed in AmirKabir university.

Qazvin Prosecutor Ismail Sadeqi Niaraki said, “On the issue of narcotics, we have taken positive steps to the point that in the past 3 months, four years work has been carried out and narcotics dealers and smugglers have been dealt with”.“In line with this, the death sentence for 30 drug smugglers has been issued and will be soon carried out after final confirmations”, he added.

The brother of Farajollah Sedaqat, the former head of Evin Prison was arrested on charges of smuggling and dealing narcotics in Evin Prison.According to reports, before this, prisoners in cellblock 350, where more than 150 political prisoners especially those arrested in post election events are detained, had informed prison officials about this issue on several occasions. They were witness to the part played by Sedaqat’s brother and a number of other prison officials in dealing narcotics in Evin Prison. But despite this, the head of Evin Prison paid no heed to this issue.

The head of the parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee, Yusefian, stressed that the execution of the subsidy plan is an issue of justice and the main slogan of the government and said, “In the implementation of this important and revolutionary plan, we should not back down because of a number of opportunists who intend to cause disruption and disorganization, rather we should act decisively and even carry out the death sentence for them”.

According to reports, agents of the Intelligence agency attacked the home of the family of Hadi Abedi bakhoda in Rasht and arrested their son. Erfan Abedi Bakhoda, 15, was arrested by the Rasht Intelligence Agency and transferred to the Navy Intelligence Agency. He was interrogated and threatened for a prolonged amount of time.This 15 year old boy was told that he had to stop seeing his uncle political prisoner Hadi Abedi Bakhoda or else he would be tried and jailed.

Iran News Agency: At 10:00am today, 16 Azar (Student Day), an Islamic Azad University of Qazvin student was chanting “Allah O Akbar” in protest to security agents, assuming the slogan would be safe to shout. However, the security agents immediately attacked and attempted to stop him by covering his mouth, but the rest of the students joined him and they began shouting slogans. The Basij forces continued to threaten and torment the student and kept an eye on him until noon. Around 1:00pm when he had become weak and sick, the school’s security agents took him away and there is still no news of his whereabouts.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - By FARNAZ FASSIHI Photo: ArchiveBEIRUT—Iranian students staged antigovernment protests nationwide Tuesday, turning an annual commemoration of student political activism into an opportunity to voice opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the regime that backs him.

Videos posted online showed students marching across campus grounds with green banners—the color of the opposition—holding pictures of jailed students, and chanting "death to the dictator" and "free student prisoners."

Security forces responded with a heavy security deployment, and at least eight arrests, according to the student website Daneshjoo. Official media didn't cover the protests or report any arrests.

Riot police and security forces surrounded Tehran University, the epicenter of student activism, according to witnesses and online videos. Iranian law prohibits security forces from entering the campus, but students said as many as 400 plainclothes militia members had entered to intimidate students.

Security forces built scaffolding around the entire campus and covered it with tents, in an apparent attempt to cut off communication between student protestors inside and passersby outside, according to videos and witness accounts.

"The university is practically under siege, no one can get in and no one can get out safely. It shows the government is still very scared of us," said a student from Tehran University.

Security forces lined up cars, buses and motorcycles for miles along the tree-lined Enghelab Avenue, where a little over a year ago millions of Iranians staged protests for change and democracy, videos showed.

Authorities have responded regularly with heavy security-force deployments since protests erupted across Iran after the disputed 2009 presidential election.

Iranian students have commemorated National Student Day on Dec. 7th since 1953, when the Shah's forces opened fire on student demonstrations at Tehran University, killing three students. The day symbolizes struggle against dictators, and has drawn large protests against the Islamic Republic's regime in recent years.

Student activists in Iran said that under the past year's crackdown on the opposition and student activism, their demands have grown.

"A lot of students hoped until last year that the Islamic Republic could be reformed but many of us think this system needs a complete overhaul," said a student from a northeastern city in Iran.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, as well as former Presidents Mohamad Khatami and Hashemi Rafsanjani, issued statements of support for the occasion and encouraged students to not give up.

"You must have hope; you must try and not fear the heavy price you have to pay," Mr. Khatami said in a statement posted on Iranian websites.

Iranian human-rights organizations and student activist groups contend at least 100 students are in jail because of their political views and hundreds more have been banned from continuing their education.

Students at the Tehran and Medical Sciences universities protested on Monday against the severe atmosphere of repression on campuses, a day before the December 7 Student Day planned protests.

Students at the University of Tehran staged a gathering in one of the campus buildings, chanting “shame, shame, this worthless government is a shame,” “we die, we die, but we will not succumb to disgrace,” “death to dictator,” “Bassiji, get lost,” and “with God’s help victory is near, death to this deceptive government.”

They then marched towards the main entrance of the campus, singing patriotic songs and continuing with anti-regime chants.

They also declared that on Student Day (December 7) a large protest will be held at the University of Tehran.

The gathering took place despite the palpable atmosphere of suppression on campus brought on by the Iranian regime’s security forces. Hundreds of anti-riot units, State Security Forces (SSF) and plain-clothes agents surrounded the university from early morning hours.

The regime’s intelligence ministry branches on campuses (known as Herasat) prevented the entry of other universities’ students to their designated campuses.

There were also reports that people who heard the students chanting gathered around the university premises to support them.

According to obtained reports, the night before the planned December 7 protest, students at Nasr University staged a protest outside the main door of the university and chanted “death to dictator.”

Suppressive SSF forces immediately began to surround the protestors. There were also other people in the area who voiced support for the students.

Science and Technology University students in Tehran distributed a letter on Sunday in the cafeteria written by the brother of Kianoush Asa, who was killed during last year’s nationwide uprisings by the Iranian regime’s forces...

Reports coming from Iran have been picked and translated for our readers to give the right idea of the extend of suppressive mood in the city and the challenge faced by students who still insist on resisting for Freedom

Photo from archive: Saitak

Tehran : Elmo Sanat University

Doors were closed in the morning.Bassidj and plain cloth forces gathered around the entrance at 11.30 am .A crowd of nearly 200 forces were preparing banners and slogans to be hung at the entrance and to prevent any movement.Forces were well equipped with bullet proof vests .

Despite all this before 10 am, there were around 700 students who had gathered and dispersed as the forces arrived.

Tehran University is completely surrounded and under surveillanceA couple of Youth who were just passing in front of the University were arrested and taken away.

The Free University:A couple of students were diffusing a protest flyer of the banned opposition group : pmoi.People's presence in the streets around the University was more than the days before , but at the same time , security presence was nearly 4 times higher than before.

From several sources in Iran, we have update news about the protests ongoing and the general situation on the streets, which we like to share without readers.Note: We appreciate the effort and risk each report has taken to get to us and do hope that our readers try to help in the diffusion of the news.

Photo: Archive

Reports coming in real words:First report:

Yesterday while passing Tehran University, we could hear the Song "Iran Azmin"loud enough - sang by student protesters inside the University- to follow therhyme. It was just wonderful and encouraging to hear it from there after all thesuppression

Second Report

Special suppressive forces _Nirooye entezami- is EVERYWHERE! But our Guys (bache ha ) are doing just tremendously ..Nothing is stopping them from commemorating our memoriesYou should have been here with us .. They – The Special Forces, are so scared. Though they have bullet proof jackets on , but fear is so obvious on their faces.. as if they are waiting to be attacked or swept by us ..

Third report :

I just had a round in Tehran: Imam Hossien underground had 30 unites stationed there. Other places the same; Enghelab Swuare had at least 25 units, Ferdowsi had around 25 unites, And Reazayee ha square tooThird report:Just passed the rout. There are check points stationed at : Tajrish , Azadi, Youssef Abad , Toopkhane squares.There were major problems with Mobiles today too

Incidents :

Yesterday in Honar University , during the protests that passed by students, they were attacked by So called security forces of the University and in that attack a girl student was pushed and bashed her head on the ground and was wounded. ..

In polytechnic clashes, which occurred around 12 noon , a prepared crowd of Bassidj and special plain cloth persons attacked the students and 3 were taken away

According to public reports, the Iranian regime executed 8 people in the month of November. In the ongoing secret executions in Vakil Abad Prison in Mashhad, 10 prisoners were hanged and like prior hangings in this prison, they were only informed of their dire fate hours before their execution. Their lawyers and families were only informed of their execution after they were hanged. Two African nationals were also among those secretly executed in this prison without the knowledge of their families.

Ten people were arbitrarily killed by the Iranian regime this month. Of course this figure was compiled only from reports that were made public and the real figures are much higher. Thirty year old Hamid Madmali was one of those killed this month. He was arrested by the Intelligence Unit of the Revolutionary Guards Corps and suspiciously passed away in an unknown detention center. He was arrested on charges of insulting the leader in his remarks to a satellite Persian network. After constant pursuits, intelligence agents buried his body in his birth place, Masjed Soleiman, under severe security measures and his brother was also threatened for filing a complaint against the relevant institution.

The Iranian regime has stepped up its use of inhumane punishment in an unprecedented manner. In the month of November, four prisoners were flogged in public in Yazd. The numbers of hand amputations in this month were also significantly high and the hands of three people in the cities of Mashhad and Kermanshah were chopped off. Of course these are only instances that are made public by the Iranian regime and there are numerous reports of hand amputations being carried out in prisons and police stations all over Iran. Because of the horrible economical state in Iran, the majority of the Iranian population lives under the poverty line and has to cope with hunger, unemployment and other problems. The Iranian regime steals the wealth of the Iranian people and as political prisoner Behrouz Javid Tehrani put it in a statement from Gohardasht Prison in Karaj regarding the implementation of hand amputation sentences, ‘eradicates the poor instead of poverty’. To make these atrocities seem legitimate, the head of Friday Prayers in Tehran cited the use of hand amputations as a form of punishment and said, “These (sentences) are considered violent by those who do not know about the depth of these customs, while it is the greatest mercy”. This remark by a top cleric in the Iranian regime shows the depth of the violence embedded in the thoughts and minds of Iran’s medieval rulers.

The facts above were some of the instances of human rights violations in the month of November. Of course only a small percent of the thousands of human rights violations going on every day in Iran were mentioned in this report.

P2EBahareh Hedayat is a member of the Office for Strengthening Unity (Tahkim Vahdat), an Iranian student organization created in 1979. She was arrested last December for the fifth time and has been sentenced to 9 ½ years in prison. Her sentence is the longest prison term given to a member of the union formed amongst Iran’s Islamic Associations (the Office for Strengthening Unity) since the establishment of this student organization around the country. Since her incarceration, she has several times been transferred to solitary confinement and interrogated while placed under heavy pressures.

Bahareh Hedayat has written the following letter on the occasion of Iran’s Student Day commemorated on December 7, 2010 (16 Azar 1389):

It has not been long since the last goodbye and our passionate battle cry together to overcome the darkness. We intended to strive with a long stride to reach the shores of light and love. We thought, at last, there will be an end to our distress and suffering, and it won’t be long till freedom will be within our people’s reach.

With our hearts together, we united and although disadvantaged in an unfair battle, we fought against tyranny with empty hands. Not only in the streets but also in our hearts, we chose to be calm and collected, but when confronted with cruelty, our sorrows multiplied. Until such a day as flowers blossom far and wide and the breeze of knowledge blows from every town and village, we envisioned our universities full of colorful and scented flower arches, not prison cells.

In our dreams, there are no barbed wires or iron gates keeping us from entering our schools. There are no private notices sent to expel students, and the shadow of fear has soared away from our universities. The professors are not banned from teaching, and our schoolmates, no longer resonating full of regret, are not summoned for questioning.

My schoolmates, we are worn out but have neither bent nor broken. We continue to stand erect, although with wounded and restless hearts. We bear witness to the efforts of dictators looting a fertile land nurtured by the selfless sacrifices of past and present generations.

The injustice imposed on Iran’s universities, our motherland and her children is the last efforts of dark hearted individuals who cannot rest peacefully any longer because the youths in Iran have a vision to free our nation. I wish our sweet dreams were no one’s nightmares. Alas, we are dealing with individuals who utter nothing but falsehoods and wish to mar us with each other’s treachery and revenge. Be forewarned in dealing with this evil to guard your conscience and stay true. Otherwise, you have opened your heart to hatred and have chosen to follow the dark path.

My patient brothers and brave sisters, winter has once again brought us the month of Azar (December), a month that was ours to strike at the heart of darkness, a month that will always be ours. The cold, brick walls of Evin prison with its endless days and nights attempt in vain to put distance between you and me, but I still remember all the bygone Student Days we spent together and longed for green, bright sunny days of the future.

Although they have erected a wall between us, I am still with my schoolmates, and by their side, hand in hand, we sing the same songs and raise our fists in the air to shout that the love between us may not be tarnished by any obstacles. Sadness and loneliness have no place in my heart because our empathy for each other is untainted.

These perpetual, sad and cold days and nights will surely end forever someday so that the hopeful promise of life surrounds us all over. There is no doubt in my mind that in our bright future, we will breathe in a free country while celebrating our liberty together. Reaching for the blue skies, we will greet the sunlight once again in our universities and all over this land that will be free, free, and free at last. Since that day is near, let us reject any doubts we may have. We must believe in this and stand up like before, informed and hopeful.

Student associations and activists at Iranian universities are preparing for protests on December 7, Student Day, by releasing statements urging others to join the planned protests, Deutsche Welle Farsi reported on Friday.

The statements lambast the Iranian regime’s repressive policies and cruelty against Iranian citizens and the student population, pointing to widespread arrests and attacks by the mullahs’ security forces on the country’s campuses.

One statement by students at Tehran’s Khajeh Nasir University recalls the regime’s barbaric measures against extensive uprisings after June 2009, saying, “Our memories have been tarnished by images of our friends being thrown off balconies, broken doors and windows, bullets, batons, tear gas, smoke, and friends whose blood has been shed, those who have been wounded, and others jailed or under torture.”

Students at the Free University in Tehran remembers in a separate statement the painful memories of the killing of their friends Ashkan Sohrabi and Amir Javadifar during the 2009 uprisings at the hands of the regime’s suppressive forces.

“(This month) is reminiscent of years of student struggle in this land against tyranny and terror. This month has a day named after us, the students,” the statement said, adding that the struggle will continue.

In addition to anger towards the clerical regime, the declarations also portray a sense of resolve on behalf of the students, as they vow to stand firm in search of democracy as well as working to free their imprisoned colleagues.

Reports indicate that over 90 prominent students have been imprisoned by the clerical regime since the June 2009 uprisings, according to Daneshjou News.

Babol’s Noshirvani University students called for the release of three of their friends, warning the regime to “free our classmates and stop being vengeful and arrogant.”

The students at the University of Tehran expressed hope that on Student Day “the (politically) conscious students will actively participate in protests to press on with their legitimate demands.”

At Amir Kabir University, students called on their colleagues to join in the protests on December 7 to “shout out together that the university is alive.”

December 7, known as Student Day in Iran, is the anniversary of the murder of three University of Tehran students in 1953. The anniversary has turned into an annual practice of expressing opposition to the clerical regime by students at various universities in Iran. ..

Posters read :-Kianoosh we will be your voice now-On to a FREE IRAN-Freedom is our Goal-Protest of students against Khatami policies while he had direct hand in the violent suppression of Universities

Students of Amirkabir University: “We Will Destroy Tyranny”The Islamic Organization of Students of Amirkabir University issued an invitation calling on all students across the country to attend the protests on National Student Day (December 7th) and chant the “University is Alive”. In their statement, the students of this university also call the civil movement of the Iranian people and especially the student movement vital for the future of the country and add that the student movement is “a thorn in the eye of the tyranny” and ask the students to continue on the path.

.Students of Azad University Call for Student Day DemonstrationsStudents of Azad University (Central Tehran Branch) on the eve of the National Student Day (December 7) issued a statement and called on their fellow classmates to participate in protests against tyranny and oppression. In part of their statement students of Azad University write: “We will never forget the destructive echo of the steps of tyranny and as it has been the tradition of resistance, we have stood against tyranny and will stand against it.”

Students of the University of Tehran On Dec 7th: “The Symbol of Resistance and Solidarity of All Students”The Islamic Association of Democratic Students of Tehran University and Tehran Medical School by issuing a statement on the eve of the National Student Day (December 7) called this day “the symbol of resistance and solidarity of all students”. In this statement the student called on their fellow classmates to participate on the protests on the National Student Day and demand their violated rights also warned the totalitarians to stop the brutality and oppression against the children of the nation.

Students of Babol University To Honor Student Day, Protest Unjust Imprisonment of ColleaguesIslamic Association of Students of Babol University (North of Iran) by issuing a statement on the eve of the National Student Day (December 7) called on their fellow classmates to honor this day and protest to the unjust imprisonment of the fellow colleagues. In this statement students of Babol University demanded the immediate released of their fellow classmates and addressed to the totalitarians wrote: “Release our fellow classmates that these cruel treatments of you against us will do no good for you but to add to the flames of the fire which will burn you. Don’t want that this fire beneath the ash to burst as you very well know that if the Damavand (a volcano in north of Iran) wakes up, it will have no mercy on you.”

Students of Qazvin International University Distribute Publications Calling for Demo’sOn the eve of 16 Azar, Students Day a group of students at Qazvin International University began distributing the following Green publications “Daneshjoo”, “Etemad Meli” & Kaleme throughout campus; this despite the fact that students have been under extreme pressure both by security forces and the university’s disciplinary office over the past two years.

As reported by Daneshjoo News, the publication and wide distribution of Green publications in both the women and men’s dormitories is an invitation to all students to attend the campus wide demonstrations planned for Students Day, 16 Azar. Currently more than 15 students at Qazvin University have been deprived of an education and many have been unable to take their final exams due to suspensions and expulsions. As per the head of the university, these students are not allowed to enter campus.

.Students of Allameh University Call for Protest on Dec 7thStudents of Alameh Tabatabaei University released a statement for the anniversary of National Students Day (December 7) calling for demonstrations and warned “the agents of tyranny in the university” to “stop adding further disgust of the students and professors of this university to your names in the history of this university.”

Students of Khajeh Nasir University Vow to Stand Until Release of Milad Asadi, “The Pride And Dignity of Khajeh Nasir University”The students of Khajeh Nasir University issued a statement for the anniversary of National Students Day (December 7) and the illegal arrest of Milad Asadi, one of the student activists of this university, who has been sentenced to seven years of prison. In their statement, the students have renewed their vows to stand until the release of “Milad Asadi, the pride and dignity of Khajeh Nasir Univeristy” and to fight “until the last breath to destroy religious tyranny and to wipe out the fascistic interpretations of the religion”. The students also assure that they will destroy the palace of tyranny.

Students of Elm o Sanat University Distribute Posters of Martyr Kianoosh Asa Before Student DayDistribution of Martyr Kianosh Aasa’s posters on the eve of National Students Day (December 7). By the approach of National Students Day, a group of Green students of Elm o Sanat University distributed posters of Green Martyr Kianosh Aasa and invitations for the commemoration of National Students Day by attendingthe protests on that day, which were well-received by the students.

Iran sentences female student activist to 6 years of prisonJudge Salavati who is the head of the 15th branch of the Revolutionary Court announced Nasim Soltan Bigi’s six year prison sentence to her lawyer on November 30.This student activist who studied at the Alameh Tabatabayi University in Tehran had gone to the 15th branch of the Revolutionary Court before this with her lawyer on August 22 and made her defense against the charges of propagating against the government and gathering and conspiring to disrupt national security.She was sentenced to 3 years of prison for ‘acting against national security’ and one year of prison for ‘propagating against the government’. A 2 year suspended prison sentence that she received in 2006 was also added to her new sentence.Soltan Bigi was arrested during a widespread arrest of student activists in 2007 and was detained in cellblock 209 in Evin Prison for 56 days before being released n a 50 million toman (about 50,000 dollar) bail. She was also arrested in a Woman’s Day gathering in 2006 and was sentenced to a 2 year suspended prison term. (Daneshju News – Dec, 1, 2010)

Suppression of religious and ethnic minorities

Two Baha’i girls expelled from junior highTwo Baha’i students in Isfahan were expelled from their Junior High School.Bahar Rohani and Barqeh Ahrari were banned from going to sixth grade on October 13. There were expelled for refusing to sign a written pledge which was given to them by the heads of the Protection Department in this school. Notably, signing this commitment was the condition for being enrolled in this school and since the content of the pledge was in violation of human and citizens’ rights, the above mentioned students refused to sign it. They were subsequently expelled without receiving any written notification on the reason behind their expulsion. These two 11 year old girls are now studying at home. (Iran Press News – Nov. 29, 2010)

Sunni clerics harassed by Iranian regimeHossein Amini, a Sunni judge in Kurdistan who is also a prominent Sunni cleric was body searched in the Khomeini Airport and his passport was seized.In addition to Hossein Amini, Hashem Hossein Panahi, an instructor in the Imam Bokhari Religious School in Sanandaj was also body searched in this airport. Before this, the passports of a number of other Sunni clerics were seized in this airport and they were banned from participating in an international conference on Islam in Turkey.Molana Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday Prayer head in Zahedan was not barred from participating in the Islam conference but his passport was seized upon his return from Turkey and he was banned from leaving the country.“When I returned from Dubai, my passport was seized in the Khomeini airport”, Hossein Amini said.“My religious books were also seized. The agents told us that they did this upon the orders of the Special Court for Clergy. (Jaras – Nov. 29, 2010)